The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1887-09-13
Prosperous Putnam.

EAToNToN, Ga, September 10-TSpecial,l
There once lived and moved and had his be-
ing here, a gay citizen, who was known as Bill
Pike. He was careless and improvident-a
hanger-on around the skirts of Providence. But
from morning to night he kept the
town a-roar with his wit and his humor. Thus
it happens that, although William has been
dead several years, his name is still house.
hold word in Eatonton, and in Putnam. His
happy hits, his queer conceitsland his droll
sayings keep his memory green. Not q day
passes that he is not quoted from. He was
man, take it, who would have been dear to
ShaEespeare's, heart, gay, rollicking fellow,
who 1outed care with his irrepressible humor
and his inimitahle jests. 1t will be long be-
fore any community will look on his like
again.
| Once on time there was race riot in Ea-
tonton. The negroes had taken possession of
| the polls, and their success was such that their
! confidence took the shape of insolence and bull
doing In this way riot was precipitated.
/ The negroes deserted the polls, rushed into the
| suburbs and came marching back, armed with
shot9uns and pistols. In the course of very
| few minutes the whites had cleaned them out.
! Their retreat from the town took the shape of
a panic The leader of the negroes was
| croOked-legged negro, and he managed to eS-
| cape, galloping out OF town with the speed of
! horse.
Weeks afterwards, this leader, whose name
was George, was heard of in Greene county,
| where he was engineering a colored revival.
| The marshal of Eatonton, Sandy Suther, to-
| gether with posse which included Bill Pike,
determined to capture George. 1t was night
when the marshal and his posse arrived in the
neighborhood where George was holding forth,
| and they soon found that he was conducting
| services in a negro church. The church was
surrounded while George was leading i'll prayer.
| When he got through, he stood up and began
| to Zine out hymn.
! ~ will arise and go to Jesus"
! he remarked with JUNCTION.
"Well,'' said Pike, who was at the door, 'if
you do you win go by way of Eatonton."
In talking with the farmers of Putnam
was glad to find that many OF them take
practical view of the tariff question. They
| feel that towns and communities can only be
| built up by means of factories and other in
dustries and they know that farmers cannot
have adequate home markets until this build
| ing-up has taken place.
"If YOU travel about in the country much ,"
said farmer friend, "you will find that not
| only have the best lands been taken up, but
! the old fields that were once used for cow pas
lures and cattle ranges are now making good
crops"
"Well," said 7, "this means that the county
! is prosperous and growing"
"Of course that is one way to look at it,"
| said my friend, "but there is another side
| Doesn't it all mean more competition among
/ farmers? / don't take much interest in the
| newspaper discussions of the tariff, but
| II does seem to me, that the
| building up of industries and factor
| les would give employment to large class of
our population, which is now piddling around
on the farms. [ think protection, which now
| prevents the pauper labor of Europe from
| competing with our manufacturers, will even
| tually prevent another class of pauper labor
| from competing with farmers by giving en-
| ployment to thousands who are now compelled
to dig their living out of the ground, in a lazy
and an aimless sort of way"
"But," said ], ''hOw about the tariff taxes
| that you read about in the newspapers? ?"
"Boshl" exclaimed the farmer. Every
! thing | buy-my clothes, nay TOOLS my crock
| eryware, everything-is great deal cheaper
than it was before the war, when, as / under
| stand, % low tariff was III operation"
"At the same time" said /. "the probability
! is that majority of the farmers of Putnam
county are in favor of free trade"
"That,' said my friend, sis because they do
not take the trouble to consider the matter.
! TheyhaYe inherited free trade ideas, and they
! stick to them. With slavery before the war, it
! was natural that the south should be for free
trade. No other policy would have been con-
sistent. But the situation has been changed,
| and the people will have to change too. There
| is no doubt about it,"
| There is another evidence of the progress that
Putnam has made, and that is the growth and
development of the dairy. An immense
amount of the finest butter is shipped abroad
| from Putnam. The pioneer in this business is
Mr.. b. w. Hunt, whose energy is something
I phenomenal. His experiment with Jerseys
has been costly one, but pluck and patience
| have done their perfect work, and his Jersey
dairy farm, in the suburbs OF Eatonton, is not
only source of pleasure, but Of considerable
| profit. Mr.. Hunts dairy is a model. 1t is
/ built over a bold spring. and the pure water
( running through insures temperature that
! never varies more than four degrees winter and
summer.
J.C.H.